04x11 - The Heist: Undercover Among the Art Thieves

[bunniefuu]

- We get this name,
Boris Kostov.

He was the John Gotti
of Stockholm.

Boris allegedly had high value
stolen art pieces

that he was
trying to unload.

- A $35 million, 300 years old
Rembrandt,

stolen from their
national museum.

[police sirens]

I'm going to play the role
of an authenticator

buying this painting
for the Russian mob.

- Boris was a ruthless
bargainer, you know,

from all his years
of doing dope deals.

- It's all about the Benjamins,
you know.

The money is all they
were caring about.

Something went wrong.

Did I blow this case?

[suspenseful music]

[narrator]: In the FBI.

We make a lot of headlines.

[riveting music]

Drug busts, mob stings.

t*rror1st takedowns.

[people shouting]

We understand why people want
to tell stories about us.

[director]: Mark it.
- Freeze!

- FBI!

- FBI!
[man in the background]: Action!

[narrator]: But they don't
know the half of it.

What really goes down?

We save that for each other

When we're talking
agent to agent.

This is FBI. True.

[Cindy Coppola]: So it's great
having you guys here today.

I appreciate you coming in.

[narrator]: Cindy Coppola
is a 23-year veteran
of the FBI.

She worked on cases
that included organized crime

and terrorism, and took part
in multinational investigations

into drug trafficking and money
laundering.

- How did you two meet?

- Primarily we met on this
Swedish museum case

when Bob was a renowned art UC,
and we had a case

that dealt
with stolen art.

[narrator]: Special Agent Sean
Sterle joined the FBI in 1998.

Based in the la field office,
he specialized in gangs and
violent crimes.

- What had happened in 2000,
it was a heist,

and three guys went into
the Swedish National Museum.

[narrator]: A renowned
undercover agent, Bob Wittman

helped recover over $300 millin
worth of art and artifacts

during two decades with the FB.

- They went in and they put
everybody on the floor.

And they had g*ns, which
is unusual, of course,

for European criminals.

And for the next few minutes,
two of them ran around

the museum and stole
three paintings.

[suspenseful music]

They had used these Spanish
riders which were basically

tack strips to stop any police
from responding.

They had set off two cars
on fire

on the main roads leading
to the end of the peninsula

where they would have
to get to in order to respond
to the theft.

Got away in a high-speed boat.

[boat engine whirring]

The whole thing happened
in less than two minutes.

So they went and stole all
three paintings

in less than
two and a half minutes or so.

Two by Renoir.

One was called The Conversation.

Another one was called
the Young Parisian.

And the third one, which is
a Rembrandt, was a self-portrait

from 1630, when Rembrandt
was 24 years old.

Renoirs were about
$3.5 million a piece.

The Rembrandt was
about 35 million.

The total value of that heist
was $42 million.

- Works of art by Rembrandt
and Renoir have been stolen

by armed robbers in Sweden.

- Did the Swedish authorities
ever catch anybody?

- Yeah, they got one of
the Renoir's back within a year.

At the time, they arrested ten
people and put them all on
trial.

Seven of them were convicted
and received

fairly long prison
sentences.

But the Young Parisian and
the Rembrandt are still missing.

- It was about August 2004,
we had a task force officer

who had an informant
who said,

there's a Eastern
European guy named Boris.

Here's his phone number and
he's been selling

kilos of coke, kilos of heroin
and boats of ecstasy,

and allegedly had high value
stolen art pieces

that he was trying to unload
for, around $500,000.

- Was he known to the FBI prior?
- No.

So we go back, go to ACS,
you know,

run up the number and
we get this name,

Boris Kostov...

and run him in ACS.

Boom, you know, like
the computer almost blew up.

So, you know, it's like FBI
Tampa, FBI Chicago,

FBI Seattle, FBI San Francisco.

Which office didn't
have a case on him?

Primarily heroin, but all kinds
of stuff besides that.

Any kind of stolen jewelry,
watches and also artwork.

- So you know he's a known
individual.

- Right.
- What were the first steps
then?

- We set up doing a lot
of surveillance on his street.

He lived on Winona Boulevard
between Hollywood Boulevard

and Sunset Boulevard
in East Hollywood.

There was lots of traffic
in and out of his house.

So it looked like it's just
a lot of drug activity there.

So we're getting to that point
where it's like: "gosh",

you know, we need to dirty up
his line

to get up on the phone, right?

As luck would have it,
one of his drug runners

got caught up
and was going to get deported.

This guy that we've got,
he doesn't want to get deported.

He's willing to work
with law enforcement.

And we're like cha-ching,
you know, like "oh, my God",

here's our chance to get
into him.

So we get this guy and we're
going to have him call Boris,

you know talk about it
on the line and set up

a one kilo buy for $18,000.
- Like a buy and bust?

- No, we weren't going to do
a buy and bust

because we wanted
to go up on the phone.

So it's a buy-walk, right?

So we're going to buy
the dope, let it walk.

Finally we're able to get
the buy you know,

test it out,
almost 100% purity.

And then his telephone, both
his home and his cell were
dirtied up.

And we were able to go
up on wiretaps on both.

- When you go up on the wire.

Were you guys looking for any
other drug deals

that he might be doing, or
what else were you looking for?

- Well, I mean, there was
the rumor

that there was that art,
you know, the stolen art.

So then on, on the wire, within
the first couple of days

he starts talking about
something that he had from

Sweden that he wanted to get out
of his house.

So we're thinking, okay, now
Boris is talking about this art.

He says on the line: "Hey, I'm
going to move this thing out

to Palm Springs tomorrow."

And so, everybody's ears
perked up.

Early that morning,
you know, we're out.

Surveillance.

You know, we got about, eight,
nine people.

Gary Bennett, my partner,
Homeland Security,

and the Los Angeles
Sheriff's Department.

Boris comes out early, looks up
and down the street,

typical drug dealer,
looking for surveillance.

Then comes out with a package
about this, you know, yay big,

maybe a little bit bigger
than a phone book or whatnot,
and takes off.

We're figuring he's going
to Palm Springs, right?

But he's not, he's driving
through Mid City LA.

And then he goes and parks
at a house, package in hands.

Starts walking up the driveway.

And so I went running up
the sidewalk

and everybody else
is coming behind me.

As he's knocking on the door
and I grabbed him by the back

and I'm like: "Come on Boris"
you know, I turn him around,

take the package away from him.

They open up the package and
there is a cable box.

And of course, Boris being
Boris, he's like:

"wow, you really take stealing
cable seriously, look at all
you guys."

My partner Gary gets his
Leatherman out

he's taken apart the thing
hoping that maybe it's rolled up
inside this cable box.

Nothing.

Boris is snickering laughing,
you know,

like "You've got
nothing. You have nothing.

Just let me go"
- So at this point,

how do you then convince
him to talk to you?

- Therein lies the one kilo buy

walk that we had
in our back pocket.

So later that day we took him
back to the FBI office,

get him in an
interview room, right?

And he's still smug.

And then we started breaking
out the recordings

of his drug deal where
he sold our informant

the kilo and it was
like you could see

the blood just drop out.

I mean, he just went, like pale
white and started pouring sweat.

And with his criminal history
he's looking at a minimum
of 17 years.

And he's like, okay, he goes:

"I'll give you all kinds of dope
dealers" and whatever.

And I go okay: "let me see
if the AUSA thinks that's
enough."

So I go back and talk to our
AUSA and then she'd be like:

"No, just, it's the painting
or nothing.

Or he can just... or he's going
to do the time."

And I come back: "Boris, they
want something else.

You know what it is."

And he's like "what, what?"

Three hours later, he's like:
"You want the painting, don't
you?"

[laughing]
And we're like: "cha-ching.
Yeah, we want the painting."

So he's like: "All right, come
on, I'll take you."

At that point we cuff him back
up, put him back in the car,

and he guides us to a rare coin
shop in Studio City, California.

And Boris goes with the owner
in the safe, and he says:

"Hey, I need my package
that I've been storing there."

- So, he doesn't go in and says:
"give him my Renoir?"

- No, no!
[laughs]

I need that Renoir now, yeah.

It was wrapped up in, I don't
know, six seven layers

of blankets and there it was and
all of a sudden,

we were just like: "wow."

You know, it was
kind of just like a thought

that there might
be this stolen art.

We had no idea that it was
that we'd ever get it.

But for you, being on
a drug squad--
- Yeah.

- And working in drug cases this
had to be, like, shocking--

- It was crazy.
- Like, what do I do with this?

- Yeah, right.
- Right.

- I've booked lots of dope
evidence and things like that,

but it's like, how do I book
something that's worth



It's like... When Boris decided
he was going to come over

and start cooperating, he goes:
"I can get you the Rembrandt,

but you have to take
me to Europe.

We're going to have to do it
in Europe."

- Who did he say it was with?

- He said: "it's never left
Sweden.

And one of my sons would
be able to get it."

- Wow. So at this point, he's
basically getting his son

involved in this criminal--
- That was the big shocker

when he said, you know: "yeah,
my son Sasha Lindgren can get it

from two brothers Dieya and
Baha Kadhum",

who were part of the Swedish
National Museum heist.

And Sasha doesn't know
that it's an FBI set-up.

- So, Bob is told you're going
to do this undercover op--

- Well, I'm asked.

[Sean]: You're asked!
[laughing]

- And I met with
Sean and Gary,

and they introduced me
to Boris,

and I guess we kind
of hit it off,

Boris and I did.

And I was probably in my early


And Boris was a little bit
older,

so he kind of trusted me
a little bit.

I think, don't ya think?

- Yeah, for sure.
- I mean, he figured,

"okay, this guy will work."

- Right.
- So, Bob, then, what was your
cover story for this?

- Yeah, so working with Boris,
you know, he's Bulgarian.

My cover story was I was
working as an authenticator

for the Russian mob to do
the deal to make sure

the payment occurred, and
that the painting was real.

And that was, you know, my
story with the Kadhum brothers.

[somber music]

- So when you all did some
negotiations over the phone

trying to determine what
the cost is going to be.

How does that come about?

Boris starts saying: "Hey, I've
got a buyer for the Rembrandt",
right?

And of course, we're trying
to get them to the US.

It would be much easier, right,
to bring the painting to the US.

And they're like:
"No, no, no, no, no.

You guys come over to Europe."

- If I was going to go buy
a car, I'd bring Boris with me

because that guy could
haggle, man.

I mean, he was brutal, he was
a ruthless bargainer,

you know, from all his years
of doing dope deals, I think.

So, because they wanted, like,
over, $1,000,000 upfront.

Next thing you know it's
$250,000 upfront and

"we'll give you the painting and
then pay us $300,000 once

you get back to the US with
the Rembrandt."

- So at that point we had
a plan.

- And then when you get
the approval, you go over
to Sweden.

- Well, first, we go to Sweden,
and we have a meeting

with the prosecutors, national
police, and local Stockholm city
police.

And they tell us, well:
"you can't bring Boris because

he's got an arrest warrant
in Sweden".

- Right before going to the US
he had come from Sweden.

He was their John Gotti..

- Of Sweden..
[Sean]: Yeah, of Sweden.

- That made it difficult.
- It sure did.

There's no such thing
as cooperating

to work down your sentence.

It was the minute you landed on
Swedish soil, you were arrested.

So we decided on Denmark,
which, you know, our legat

had a great relationship with
their law enforcement people,
which is huge, right?

- So, Bob, tell me about that.

You are in Copenhagen.
- Gary and Sean are managing

Boris and they have Boris make
the call to Sasha--

- His son.
[Sean and Bob]: Yeah.

[suspenseful music]

- ...to come down to start these
negotiations.

- So where's Boris's son,
to your knowledge?.

- Boris's son was in Stockholm.
- Okay.

- And, of course, Boris was
with us in Copenhagen.

It's about a five-hour train
ride from Stockholm

all the way
down to Copenhagen.

- Didn't Sasha bring someone
with him that was unexpected?

- That was the shocker,
wasn't it?

Sasha shows up and he's and
he's got a little baby

with him, a little child.

And it was his daughter.
- Yeah.

So it's Boris's gran--
- It was Boris's granddaughter.

It's the first time Boris is
seeing his granddaughter.

- Wow.
- So there was a very,

very touching moment where Boris
gives her a hug

and says I'm
your grandfather.

And it was really interesting
to see this family dynamic

in this situation.

And I'm standing here
thinking: "oh, my goodness.

Here's the guy giving up his
son and his granddaughter
at the same time."

But then again, his son's
a criminal, alright.

He's bringing her with
him for cover.

It's not just to introduce
her to her grandfather.

It's so that it looks good
that father and daughter

are traveling together
on a train.

- So how did that conversation
go then?

- Any undercover operation I did
using art,

it was always my first
belief that it was real.

I wasn't an agent.
I wasn't a policeman.

I'm buying this thing and
I'm paying this much money.

- Absolutely.

- I was just doing
what was natural.

- Yeah.
- We showed Sasha the money

so he would know that we were
for real.

We just made sure that he knew
that Boris was working

for me with the Russian mob

and that he wasn't in charge
of money. I was.

- They're worried that they're
going to bring the painting

and Boris is going to go stick
them up,

give me the painting
and take off.

No honor among thieves
at this point.

- And so we told, basically told
them, you've seen the money.

Now go home and get
the painting.

You know, it's time
to do the deal.

- Sasha calls Boris several days
later and says:

"okay, everybody's agreed
in their little crook conclave

there, you know, everybody's
blessed, blessed off

on the 250,000 upfront for this,
you know, for the painting.

And we're going
to do it tomorrow."

[rhythmic music]

- We're staying
at the Scandic Hotel

and I had a room there we were
using as the undercover room.

- And we had the adjoining room.

We had a closed, closed circuit
TV, you know,

real live feed
with Bob's room.

And we were in the next room.

I was in there with members
of the Danish SWAT team.

- Yeah, we get a call and
the call is from

the Swedish National Police,
and they said that they were

watching the houses
of the Kadhum Brothers,

the two brothers that were
involved, going back and forth.

A lot of movement
the night before.

They said that three
individuals were on their way

back to Copenhagen on the train.

Again, it was Sasha, Dieya
and Baha Kadhum.

They have a package they're
carrying looks like

the size of the painting.

[enigmatic music]

[riveting music]

When these guys were coming
towards the hotel

from the train station
I checked the SWAT team's

key cards on my door.

They didn't work.
Did you know that?

- You know what?
I did not know that.

That must have made you feel
really confident.

- So I ran downstairs--
- Scrambling...

-...to get new key cards,
and I ran back upstairs

and gave it to the guy
in the SWAT team.

Said we ought to fix
it at the last second, right?

- Yeah.

Can you imagine
if that didn't work?

[frantic music]

- All three of them
come to the hotel.

At that point Boris and Baha
Kadhum come up to my room.

They come in and they
want to see the money.

And the first thing I'm going
to do is frisk them,

because I wanna make sure they
don't have a weapon.

Because what we're afraid of is
that Baha Kadhum,

he's seen the money and
now he's going to be able to,

you know, rob me.

And I always tell my wife
I want to come back

with the same amount of holes
I left with.

That's a good idea, right, Sean?
- That's always a good idea.

- ...in any of these jobs.
So anyway, we do that.
There's no weapons.

That's great.
No knives or anything like that.

So we bring in the money.

We show them all the money, we
put it out on the bed.

$100 bills in piles.

[stressful music]

And he sits down on the bed.

He's staring at every,
every pile of money.

[frantic music]

And he goes through it all.

Finally, he's convinced,
he's happy.

I said, You know, we have
to get this done.

The Russians are
getting nervous. Let's go.

So they said: "okay, we're going
to go get the painting."

I knew the guy was down
on the corner, you know,

the guy that had the package was
staying outside

and I knew that they were out
there to go get him.

And then I get a call
and it's Sean.

And Sean says something
went wrong.

- Oh no.

- ...and they all ran away.

He said: "do you think we should
arrest them?"

I said: "if they get
on the train arrest them.

But before that, see where they
go, you know, see what happens."

I'm sitting in the room and
I'm going back and forth

in that room, pacing, thinking,
what could I have said wrong?

What did I do wrong?

Did I blow this case after all
this work these guys went to?

You know, it's just a terrible
feeling, you know?

When they came to the room,
they didn't have the painting,

so they have to go get it
somewhere, Right?

- And the guy supposedly outside
has the painting, right?

- That guy was just a decoy
to make sure that nobody

was surveilling them or law
enforcement

wasn't part of this thing.
[Cindy]: Interesting.

- Finally, they bring
a different package

and it's wrapped up
in this velvet cloth.

And it's tied so tight and
I had nothing to open it with.

[stressful music]

It took me minutes and minutes
to try to open this thing up.

It was so tight with the knots.

It seemed like three hours it
took you to get that thing

undone with the...
- It took forever.

...the velvet that it
was in, or whatever.

It was like: "Come on, Bob,
open it." It was t*rture.

- But finally, when I got it
open, you know,

I pulled it apart and
I looked at it,

and it was the Rembrandt.

[calm music]

I mean, for a minute it was
like, you know "Eureka".

Your feet don't touch
the ground.

- It's stunning, right?

- It's stunning. I mean, I felt
like that

when I had my
children.

A $35 million, 300 years old
Rembrandt,

you know, done by
the master.

[calm music]

So I'm looking at it thinking,
oh, my gosh, you know,

what an amazing piece to have
in your hands.

The SWAT team code word on this
was "this is a done deal".

So I knew where the camera was
and the microphone.

I go to the microphone,
silence...

And when I said that these guys
are going to come racing into
the room,

break the door down,
save me,

save the painting
and save the day.

[laughing]

- We had a key for that room
that he was doing it,

and of course, it's like one
of those, key fob things--

- Key fob...
- And of course, it's like:
"it's not working.

It's not working."

And then finally the door,
you know, opens,

you know, the lock
unlocks and...

- So at the point I ran out
of the room and they all

came in and they grabbed these
guys, I ran out of the room

with the painting.

[indistinct conversation]

Boris gets handcuffed.
- A second time.

- Yeah!

This one's just for play
though, you know?

- So for his protection we had
him arrested as well.

Right. So get him back
to the United States

before they knew he was
a cooperator.

- And then within a year,
the European courts overturned

the conviction, saying
that the use of the father,

you know, Boris against his son
was a civil rights violation.

- Almost like more
of a outrageous government
conduct

to actually use a blood
relative to fool the crooks.

- But what happened when Boris
went to court in L.A.?

- He had gotten the largest
downward departure, meaning

time knocked off, as you know,
time knocked off his sentence

of anyone in history
of the Central District
of California.

- Central District, okay.

- So he went from 17 years
to about the week

that he spent in jail.
- Probation?

- Yeah.
- So, Bob, tell me why

this type
of case is important?

The Rembrandt is an icon
of Western civilization.

[classical music]

So it's our job as a culture
to protect cultural heritage

and protect these pieces
for the future of the world.

[piano music]